Настучать в бубен / Hit the tambourine: Глава 14

Chapter 14

Camrad_RIP 10.07.24 в 13:39

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Camrad_RIP 10.07.24 в 13:39

Stepan did not take the promotion by investing the free points the next morning or even the very next day. He decided to take a little rest, to relax his buns after the hardest tension. It even seemed a little strange to him at first, but the revenge he had experienced was more mentally draining in many ways than the battle with a horde of evil spirits. There was something ironic about it, but also understandable. That fight had been forced upon him, but here he'd come himself, and killed people, even if many of them didn't deserve to be called such. Why not give himself some positive emotions, since he had closed the most important cases anyway? Torture Meld with tasks to develop his mind, drink wine in the inn, chat with Kirik, just lie in the snow at night, and look at the stars. All this was of no avail, but Stepan felt the vise of stress slowly releasing him, loosening its merciless grip. No one, but he should keep an eye on his cuckoo and not let it fly away to warm lands. This world will survive a simple young psycho, a magically gifted one, in general, too, but a magically gifted psycho with a System is not a sure thing.

Camrad_RIP 10.07.24 в 18:28

However, he had been doing nothing, blessed and holy, for exactly forty-eight hours, and he couldn't stand it any longer, starting to put back the load he had reduced. This was primarily a test of his increased abilities, and this test in itself lifted his spirits and made him forget some of his worries. The young man had noticed before that his abilities were limited not only by his knowledge but also by the lack of development of his magical potential. A too shallow reserve, insufficient power of auric nodes, weak control, and, of course, lack of Spirit and Sensitivity, are his two main characteristics, the heart of the shaman class itself. The sudden upward spurt had an expectedly positive effect. It was felt precisely in the fact that those tricks for which he had had to fiddle around with intensified chanting, more preparation, and a lot of precautions, now worked without them. Well, at least without some of those preparatory precautions.

Camrad_RIP 10.07.24 в 18:30

There was another important circumstance: since Stepan didn't mind either preparation or caution, he could jump even higher now, using the same preparation and cunning tricks. The work was not less, but it was much easier. What used to take half a day to accomplish before he had two elite properties at once was now done in a couple of hours, and what took hours was done in minutes. The Spirit was the key to understanding the high realms, and this very spirit in his performance reached twelve units, which even for a master was a lot. And he rose to three divisions at once, where each was much more significant than the previous one, and the higher he went, the brighter the gap became. In many ways, that was why he did nothing for the first few days. He was getting used to how the world around him had opened up in a new way, how the universe had embraced him as if bestowing a drop of grace on its child.

Camrad_RIP 10.07.24 в 18:33

The high Spirit allowed him to draw power from the world, compensating for the relatively modest reserve, allowing him to work more closely with the spheres, pushing their laws with his own will, allowed him to order weak and small entities without calls, with a single wish. It was impossible to tell how much it allowed, both the things he had noticed earlier, just to a greater extent and something completely new! Stepan was simply lost in these changes, habitually cautious, not wishing to injure himself. But the intensity had also grown. That allowed him to understand what exactly had changed in him and his surroundings! The young man caught himself thinking that he could switch to magic or spiritual vision almost effortlessly and without the need to concentrate, very confidently adjusting the clarity and depth of each type of perception, their intersection with each other. And without magic, the world was opening up from new sides to the point that he slowly learned to look through walls, or just around him, as if perceiving the world not with separate senses, but as a whole, creating a circle with himself in the center, where he just knew. He knew that the boot had rolled under the bed without even looking under it, he knew that one of the threshold steps was loose and might crack, he knew that the threads of the seam on his shirt sleeve were slightly separated, he knew, he knew, he knew, he knew.

Camrad_RIP 10.07.24 в 18:36

That's why he didn't hurry, bringing himself in full order with pleasure and calmness, at the same time testing the limits of his abilities. He intuitively, even without the help of the help, understood that he was on the verge when the System would recognize him as a senior shaman, it was only necessary to put in the last points, and it gave him a kind of pride. Mastering the new took almost a week and a couple of small quests from the System with a penny reward, which he undertook to do to test himself. Tested, mastered, and assured, began the intended remodeling of the clearing into something more comprehensible, and even made some progress before he decided to raise his attributes. He had been thinking about what exactly to raise, where to invest the invaluable two points, and what to spend them on, for a long time, and after the spurt that had happened, he was only more convinced of his rightness.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 05:42

There were many things he wanted to increase. No path would be useless. Everything would have its use. Constitution, which would increase survivability and reveal more fully the aspects of working with one's life force. Source, which determines the giftedness of an individual and increases the reserve. Power, which will increase the value and nourishment of his strength, strengthens the spiritual form and the nodes of the auric sheath. Control, which will work well in conjunction with the newly taken awareness of multiplicity. Even the Resistance, which was frozen at a dismal one and, once raised, would make him more dangerous and less vulnerable in spirit form. There wasn't a characteristic that couldn't benefit, it wasn't a game after all, no matter how much the System made you think otherwise. Not a game at all, but a reflection of the real properties and characteristics of subtle bodies. All the options remained archipotent, each of them could move him forward, diversify the doctrine of development and approach to it, but in fact, the options were still obvious, like Stepan's class, chosen on the first day.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 06:15

He is a shaman. The essence of his nature is Spirit, which gives power over spheres, strengthens that power, and imposes it on reality, on its underside, on its inhabitants, as well as Sensitivity, which makes it possible to apply this Spirit in the right way, to understand what it allows you to see, to reveal the hidden and highlight the obvious. Yes, any option is available and any of them are useful, but it is not for nothing that these two attributes are called class attributes for him, is it? There would come a time when he would raise the lagging stats as well if he couldn't raise them through quests, but that time would not come now. Stepan spent the next three days investing three free characteristic points, even if it was technically two. The additional free point received for taking a ten in an attribute hinted very strongly about investing one in the Sensitivity, bringing it up to the same ten.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 06:10

He put it in, and then another, bringing the Sensitivity to eleven, and the Spirit to thirteen, each time taking a pause and spending at least a dozen hours in continuous meditation, trying to see and understand as much as possible, as best he could adapt to the changes. He was doing quite well, combining rather lazy calls with a gradual exploration of new horizons, and he was not surprised when another message from the System caught up with him. This time it was of a completely unfamiliar hue, the images had a different interpretation, and in general, it seemed to him as if this message-image was even a little solemn.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 06:07

The Shaman class has reached a developmental milestone.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 05:43

New Class: "Senior Shaman."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 05:43

Class features have changed: every tenth level you gain one more talent point; bonus talent point can only be spent in the meta-skills section; unique elite-type meta-skills will be available for selection. One of the main class skills can be upgraded by one level without spending free talent points.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 05:44

The choice of advanced class specialization will become available at the twenty-fifth level; available options for advanced specialization will be granted based on status modifications already in place.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 05:47

Subclass choices will become available at the thirtieth level; available subclass options will be provided based on status modifications already in place.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 05:55

Stepan smiled a tired but satisfied smile, complaining mentally about the way the System evaluated its adepts. He'd been in the senior shaman class for quite some time now, not to mention his knowledge. But no, he was recognized only now, though he should have been recognized a long time ago. On the other hand, such indignation is like complaining that his pearls are small and his diamonds are not cut well enough. The manner of the system to take into account any ranks and the degree of understanding of individual knowledge on the highest of the planks, on the contrary, should be a sacred cow to him! What did he care that the system did not recognize him as a senior, if he could consider himself one in fact? Well, a little bit, just a little bit, in certain directions? Now, now he could do more than a little, but it was still better to stay away from battle mages of the same rank and not to piss off the powerful assholes.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 06:59

He was more excited by the mention of the possibility of choosing a subclass and specialization of the main class, but a slight resentment and irritation quickly replaced this excitement. Taking into account that status modifications would be considered for specialization and subclassing, he already guessed what options would be offered to him, as well as understood that the Autogoddess could give some gifts herself, without asking. He could only hope that he would not be handed some "Caller of Passions" by force, but would be allowed to choose one himself. They had allowed it before. He had the option of not picking that special class. Moreover, Stepan did not doubt that he would be able to choose himself. But they would just start waving a suspiciously shaped carrot in front of his face again, showing what cool development options were available to him out of the goodness of Milf heart. It seems that nothing of this kind has happened yet, but his ass is burning already now as if his ass suddenly acquired prophetic abilities!

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 09:46

The possibility to choose not only a property but also a meta-skill of high awesomeness at a multiple of ten levels was certainly appealing to him, especially since this choice would be a normal one, not an Autogoddess one. And even if she added something of her own, it wouldn't change the fact that Stepan would choose at least one meta-skill himself. The hell knows what option he will choose and what kind of options will be available, but he already likes it a priori very much, give him more, and you can do it right away, without waiting for thirty level.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 10:39

The last in order of priority, but not in importance, he was occupied with increasing the basic class knowledge: either calls or dialog, up to a new level. It was possible to choose only one of the two, the usefulness of both areas was undeniable. They were not in vain considered the backbone of the class power of the shaman. In principle, Stepan intended to invest in the dialog, as he always did. He was accustomed to not rushing into the higher level calls without being allowed to speak intelligibly to what he summoned. Yes, the Spirit that had grown to thirteen and the Sensitivity that had crossed ten, would allow him to compensate for the lag through high stats, but it would still be an unnecessary risk. So Stepan, having finished preparing for the creation of another cloaking boundary in the clearing, - channeled excess power and spiritual reflections into an additional totem and from there into the deeper layers of the spheres, so as not to shine either in reality or in the near layers of the spiritual world - returned to the house, had dinner, played a little with the transfer of the training chair from the world of spirits to reality, and raised "advanced developed practices of spiritual dialog" to a new level, receiving "master practices of spiritual dialog".

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 10:50

As always with this pair of knowledge, the wave of information touched all aspects bit by bit, equally enhancing the interaction with whatever knowledge was available. The spiritual dialog of the new rank was revealed not only by an increase in the quality of understanding or the transmission of images as before, no. The change was noticeably deeper, as was the transition to mastery itself. Images acquired multiple shades. It became much easier to play with halftones, partial truth, or blatant lies, to disguise one thing as another or another as one thing disguised by another. Different and branched methods appeared, which would help to recognize such attempts on the part of the interlocutor or opponent. The skill of dialog is not only to confuse or deceive but also to subdue, to transfer the will of the spirit not only by the power of the spirit itself but by the subtlety of its use, to confuse and confuse, to change the accents of the contract to almost opposite. Here is a very significant synergy with the skills of suggestive, spiritual form and its use, as well as patchwork echo.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 10:52

Methods of interaction with different spirits within different dialog paradigms. Some tricks and types of communication for combat summons, are quite different for healing ones, even if the same spirit is summoned, just for different tasks. Combat use isn't monolithic either. Calling a spirit to attack or defense. Against sentient or beasts. Against mindless creatures, or quite intelligent bastards. Work with the concepts of debt and promises to pay later, ways to persuade to work on credit, delay payments or get rid of them altogether, convincing the spirit that he has already been paid, that he has already received the necessary payment, or that he is still owed. Precise instructions to the spirits-healers, cursers, or masters of the curse to remove the curse, to charmers and suggestors, guiding them even in the smallest details, leaving nothing to chance and thus increasing the effectiveness of the work of spirits with subtle specialties, while also reducing costs.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 10:58

Dosage of power when investing images or feeding the spirit, which is also a form of dialog. The ability to force spirits to do more for the same or less pay, so they are not angry or angry but still do the work. Strengthening the resonance of images through totems, spell territory, the use of the resonator as part of the overall defense array, reliance on the source, and turning it into a de facto beacon-semaphore for a variety of purposes. Up to summoning a huge crowd of hungry scum in order to organize a small and pocket magical apocalypse in a small or not-so-small town. Although, okay, just in the cities magical sources protect very well, including from such an approach to organize the destruction.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 11:00

Stepan learned all this with a satisfied smile and understanding that he had not made a mistake in his choice, especially when he began to analyze the pluses to combat skills and agent work. It all ended with an unscheduled trip to the beach, to sit on the bank of the ice-covered river and throw pebbles into the river. The fact that the ice covered the river completely did not prevent him from doing this important work. Small pebbles in Stepan's hands acquired a strange shimmering and with a slight movement of his finger were sent into flight at a distance of up to a hundred meters, on the way glowing red-hot, or even white-hot. So that by the time the pebble fell on the surface of the ice shell, it pierced the shell like a red-hot butter knife, quickly cooling down in the icy water.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 14:48

Further plans for the next levels were slowly emerging. It would be necessary to increase the сфдд practice, as well as to strengthen the dialog again, up to the maximum on the current characteristics. Then it would be worthwhile to take up spiritual transformation and maybe the same agency work, which could be increased to the available maximum one more time. Paranoia said that the latter should be raised right at this very moment, but he, thank the gods, has not yet so legacy, and the worldwide search for the ass of one owner of the System, modest and not arranging world cataclysms, is not yet conducted. From this thought for some reason a wave of cold drops ran down his back, as if he slipped into the river, at the bank of which he sat down on a stone warmed by spirits, making him shiver and shrug his shoulders. Trying to listen to the sudden chill, or the flash of strange intuition - for the owner of high indicators of Spirit and Sensitivity, such omens and flashes of intuitive sense of threat are not so unusual - the young man with some excitement moved the prospect of increasing the agent work a little higher in the list of priorities.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 14:51

He finished his reflections by tossing into the air the same boulder, the size of a watermelon and a half, on which he had been sitting all this time, also warming it up with the spirit of the fiery and hot sphere, and accelerating it and directing it into flight with the aspects of feather and lightness. It was only when there was a resounding smack in the middle of the river, a muffled pop, and the hiss of boiling water, that he realized he had overdone it a bit. The village was asleep, and no one seemed to be wandering by the river in the middle of the night, so there shouldn't be any witnesses, especially given the brightness of the red-hot cobblestones in the near-darkness. The shaman laughed quietly, even embarrassed and ashamed, and looked at the village from a bird's-eye view, took stock of the disgruntled boatman's face - the same one who had finally recognized Meld as a nice guy - and looked out the window to see the source of the noise and went back to his place with a quick step, covering his tracks with another call. Well, in childhood many children liked to play with matches, so he, apparently, is falling into that very childhood. Although, if anything, he will tell everyone that it was he who patented a new method of killing fish with simultaneous boiling of fish soup, right in the river.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 14:54

Early in the morning, after hearing new rumors from Meld that some beast had fallen through the ice on the river that night. Nodding with a deep thoughtfulness on his face, Stepan said he could go to the forest again for a while, so there was no need to worry if anything, and began to create new lines of defense. Now, with an approximate understanding of the concept of the final version of his works, the work went more cheerfully, and he was interested, himself interested, and such an attitude was always the best incentive to work, along with salary and bonuses. Since no one paid him any money, except for the System that issued currency for the store, Stepan had to compensate for everything with the pleasure of his labor. On the other hand, even if he were given a million dollars in cash every week, he wouldn't be able to do anything with those papers, except sell them as funny pictures or use them instead of kindling and toilet paper.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 14:57

So, pondering whether the burning of several million eternally green monetary units would be considered a valuable sacrifice if the shaman-sacrificer knows their value, but the offering itself is worthless in this world, he finished another call. Six spirits, all strong, albeit on the border of the usual trifle, rose above the clearing in a strict circle, creating a rainbow barely recognizable even at close range, but quite a real rainbow, and then began to circle around the clearing, raising a light breeze-vortex, as well as putting their changes in the surrounding reality. Their influence created an artificial whirlpool in the magical currents, masking from the sensors of both classical magic and witchcraft. This vortex should not just appear to be a natural fluctuation of the magic field, slightly enhanced by the calls of a young shaman in the rank of apprentice, it should become such without arousing suspicion. To hide the second and much more amusing fact behind the first layer. At any moment, this vortex could be put on the afterburner, destabilizing the work of amulets, shields, or simply weaves of supposedly unkind guests, the spirits and totems in the center, on the contrary, feeding additional infusions of power, which do not need to be pumped out by force, which themselves flow into the reserves and spiritual bodies.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 15:01

It will also strengthen the other spirits, but that's what totems are for, to determine by marking those to whom this strengthening will go, to unfocus the vortex into small streams and direct them not anywhere, but exactly to the right place. The same witchcraft practices had to be countered by the same witchcraft change of the surrounding earth, its reflection in the spheres: this earth was tightly bound to totems, making them, in fact, removable altars. The totems themselves were still transportable and portable, as totems should be, even if large, but as long as they were in that place, their resonance with the terrain served as both shield and amplification. Of course, such a bridge could be used two ways, and a strong spellcaster could attempt to subdue or damage totems through this same connection to the land and terrain. Only it would have to be a very strong caster, not much weaker than Stepan's shaman, and there was a defense there - simple, not refined, based on guardian spirits sleeping in the ground, on cunning traps and self-locking circles, but also very powerful. Banal poured with power to the most wow-oh-oh, so longer to take off, even if you take off. And beneath the bright and powerful protection, which a master, a true master, could simply bypass or intercept, were as thin signal webs as Stepan could make them thin with the help of his ghostly grasp and the summoned spirit-silkworm.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 17:23

The six creators of the rainbow continued to irradiate the clearing and the shaman standing in its center with rainbow rays, who from the flashed association barely kept the whole connection under control, not destroying the chains of sent images only due to his super-property for simultaneous control of spirits. Yes, that's what a real magic rainbow is, only without gay radiation. Thoughtful shaman even calculated what spirits he should call to create not just a rainbow, but really changing the orientation of all under its light caught. It should not be a simple suggestor or charmer, which will rewrite the preferences of one victim, no. Area impact with reference to non-material light radiation - such a straightforward he will not even tell how to pull off, and even if he did, he would not dare to take on more levels ... many levels ... many levels. If anything, it would be his most terrible weapon, his last argument in case of a decisive battle with his own common sense!

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 17:25

Returning to the subject of changes installed in the structure of the clearing. Most were still related to masking and diverting attention, turning this "laboratory" into something inconspicuous and perfectly merging with the surrounding background. Specialized spirits covered the outer barrier with another barrier, blocking parasitic effluents, and masking them under the natural background, some of the specific suggestors created the effect of wandering, not confusing traces, but literally turning the brain to find nothing and "naturally" bypassing the uninteresting place. Here the second layer of the same suggestion was just set up to break the sense of distance, to change the consciousness, to deprive the will and drive insane, or even simply, to make one lie down, fall asleep, and not wake up. Dark nature spirits in the roots of trees, which will braid the persistent sleeper, drag the dying body under the ground, and feed the guardian spirits, were included in the package. He had to ensure he didn't let his inner and deadly defenses overstep the line of ordinary and non-lethal disguise, and he didn't want mushroom pickers to disappear in the forest.

Camrad_RIP 13.07.24 в 11:20

A strong, very strong, and unpleasant spirit of the same suggestive type was summoned and settled in a small totem that Stepan hung on the tallest tree in his clearing. He had to deprive himself of almost all his weight, like a feather or a leaf, and then blow a stream of wind up his ass, controlling his flight and correcting his course. The totem was housed in an old hollow tree, deliberately expanded from the inside, and properly treated both by the spirits and Stepan himself through his spirit body. The store-bought wood dust of an old and very magical tree from the far north, even in the bitter cold, made his hands even stronger, but the spirit wanted just such bedding for the totem. He could demand it because it was an excellent and extremely rare specialist who created not just a deafening barrier to consciousness, but carefully diverted other people's attention in another direction. So as not to arouse suspicion or trigger protective amulets, which, in standard and even advanced equipment, are almost useless against its effects.

Camrad_RIP 13.07.24 в 11:31

In addition to the main property, which only strengthened the already imposed effects, this summoning had another, much larger one. The essence did not allow itself and the protected by its will to be seen by any fortune-tellers. Of course, a good fortune-teller or clairvoyant, who can with sufficient confidence to find the right person or place, not in every state can find, and to stop such a spirit it will not work, only slightly confused. But more simple specialists, and from indirect search and without reliance on the auric-spiritual impression - he almost bit his tongue when he thanked Milfosaurus for the spiritual echo on reflex - such an essence will protect and shelter. It was not that Stepan didn't need more, it was just that he couldn't achieve more at once. Unless he binds himself to a place. If he doesn't buy insanely expensive supplies. If he doesn't stoop to blackness, hiding himself and his place behind the fate of a slaughtered victim. If he doesn't take crazy risks in summoning elder spirits.

Camrad_RIP 13.07.24 в 12:41

Another call was no longer a Suggestor or Charmer - oh, Stepan smiled at Mr. Burns from The Simpsons every time he called up brainiacs for normal, not Autogoddess, work - referring to spirits without a clear sphere, but he was just amazingly good at working with methods of installing barriers from the spirit world. He put up these barriers one after another, while Stepan only had time to throw offerings into the blazing greenish flames, and with his phantom hand to throw the most primitive chunks of totems into the spirit world. The spirit itself helped to summon younger brethren, also without sphere and clear specialization, generally useless trifles, but it charged it with a part of itself. Not even "he", but "she", for this entity felt as if it had become a mother marked by it. And the children of such a mother acquired part of the properties of the one who had forcibly and without asking, strengthened this totem, creating a cellular and self-fueled barrier. Totems, having disappeared from reality were not carried away by the currents in the world of spheres, but as if to grow into it, exactly on the places where the necessary sign-symbol was carved or hollowed out on trees or stones. Such rooted points of support will exist as long as there continues to be a central structure feeding the cells.

Camrad_RIP 13.07.24 в 16:52

The symbols, by the way, had to be cut not even with daggers for rituals, which, frankly speaking, were too small and weak for him, but with his fingernail, which had lengthened and strengthened like a beast claw and was also red-hot. The essence did not like obsidian or bones, so its children would also go to such signs reluctantly, so I had to twist it with the sub-settlement of the spirit of the beast in myself at the same time, and without a clear beast, this clawed and predatory something, and then polish it with a second sub-settlement, only already fiery essence. The sensations from the partially spirit-like flesh and therefore able to morph into a clawed grasp on his arm were indescribable, but they were not particularly disgusting either. The simultaneous presence of two different entities in the same body caused more problems, because they involuntarily conflicted because of the difference in perception, and Stepan had to keep both of them in check. Also, we can not forget the annoying need to remove all his clothes and climb through the forest naked, otherwise, the contact with the skin fabric began to smoke. And the clothes themselves were wearing out a bit during his stay in the new world, though he tried to take care of them, and at this rate, he would have to renew them. Well, or to buy in the store, there, as it seemed, were appropriate sections, both ordinary and armored, and even enchanted (and, optionally, armored) clothes.

Camrad_RIP 13.07.24 в 20:28

The spirit was too much death and necrotic presence to leave it unattended, but he preferred to eat the offerings only after they had passed through a mixture of flame and death, like another ghost. Strangely, the spirit had no connection to death but preferred to eat the offerings only after they had passed through a mixture of flame and death, like another ghost. An unusual creature, but compliant and, more importantly, one that had nothing against complex and punishing contracts to ensure that no one would then use the bond of "mother" and "children" to bypass the barriers. Apparently, the entity didn't give a sneeze about such peculiar offspring at all, let alone remember them, connect to them, use them to merge with the defenses and make a treacherous strike against the shaman. However, this did not prevent Stepan, after the transaction was over and the sun had set, from crawling through the same snow drifts and sprinkling the signs and beacons of the totems absent in reality with a mixture of the power-saturated blood of several gifted ones, strongest alcohol and a couple of herbs to finally break the bond of "parent and child", preserving the other effects.

Camrad_RIP 13.07.24 в 12:43

He had to drink the rest of the reagent, about one shot and exhaled a cloud of flame from his mouth in response. He still hadn't let go of the fire spirit, simply because he had to keep himself warm all this time. And no, he drank not to warm himself, but to close the ritual knots on himself, beginning to feel them fully, not just through his reliance on the totemic base of the clearing. Actually, Stepan's own blood would have been suitable here, not the substrate bought in the system store. But here it was already calmer for him to make additional efforts and spend than to leave his blood here and the connection on this blood with a bunch of totems. That was obvious even without the knowledge of agency work, but with them, it was triply so. Stepan never would have thought there were so many different ways to use such a connection and misstep against an isekai.

Camrad_RIP 13.07.24 в 12:46

The young man sat for a while longer, resting, sipping on a mixture of wine, honey, and strengthening herbs, glancing at the next offer of the week and wrinkling his face with an involuntary toothache. No, not because it was an item from Autogoddess, oddly enough. It was a contract anchor-totem to connect with a very powerful spirit, not even an elder spirit, but a full-fledged higher spirit, albeit a weak one, who specialized in curses, large-scale and area curses that penetrated even through standard defenses and were very difficult to remove. It was not worth it to call against individual and experienced sorcerers, there are many better specialists even among the lower-ranked representatives, but against armies, besieged cities, and large units it was a cheat, imba, and perdition.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 06:40

The spirit inflicted tooth decay and tooth rot, which only seems frivolous, but not when the whole army and even the weak gifted in a cluster become toothless. And not when, without full-fledged magical treatment, tooth decay and bite marks turn into rotting bones of the jaw and face, necrosis, gangrene, brain damage, and mass death. A very classy and reliable way to take beautiful revenge on a city you personally dislike and make the whole world go after you alone, nothing to say. Stepan wasn't sure that if he had had enough purchasing power - about a third of the asking price was missing - he would have held back from buying it. Because to buy this sinister shit was very much wanted, as well as carefully and well prepared to burn this totem together with the inhabitant. The price, common sense, and the understanding that even with such a treacherous blow there was a risk of getting the death kicks from the offended spirit. He already dislikes dentists from childhood and reacts to the sound of the drill with Vietnamese flashbacks.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 17:40

Nothing, tomorrow this lot will change to a new one and, I have a hunch, it will be something from the Big Milfs category, so today's cause of irritation will be safely forgotten behind the new one.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 06:41

* * *

Camrad_RIP 10.07.24 в 14:24

The work on the clearing was not suddenly completed, but for a moment Stepan felt a slight surprise that there was no need to do anything else, no need to redo anything, no need to urgently search for a replacement for the spirit that had gotten restless, no need to send a second batch of hounds after the restless and bribe-taking smart guy, because he had managed to fend off the first one by some miracle, or anything else. It was a good time, filled with bold decisions, original use of familiar techniques, and a lot of mental swearing, which in the most difficult moments ceased to be mental. Stepan had covered the central clearing and its totems with such a dense layer of territorial and spiritual influences that the clearing was partly a world of spheres, not a boring reality. This was an idea he'd picked up from his little knowledge of the protective distorting shield dubbed the preternatural. Of course, it was impossible to drag all the totems to the spirit world, as well as the clearing, but he had created something close to the spatial lacuna, where the metric of space became a little alien. Now it was impossible to find the clearing with totems by purely physical search, even if you threw searchers with a catapult.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 17:36

Received: "advanced basic techniques of territorial influences"; increased affinity with higher spheres; increased probability of acquiring knowledge and properties of the branch of witchcraft; facilitated the process of gaining control over the territory.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 17:32

The acquired talent is added to the overall Player Status.

Camrad_RIP 10.07.24 в 14:24

Stepan hoped a little that his work with totems would increase. But in the end, he was too much carried away by territorial spells. He did not make new totems, only improved and modified the old ones. In any case, now all he had to do was shake off his hands and make a sham, a kind of place where an ordinary apprentice shaman could call for the whole winter and part of the fall. And the young man would definitely do it, as soon as he learned new knowledge and habitually took a short day off. He deserved it. The increased talent is direct evidence. It was not surprising that he had improved, for he did a lot of work with an emphasis on the very basis of the necessary knowledge, which was always lacking, and had to be compensated for by calls of the necessary spirits, or by direct influence through the ghostly body, or, yes, yes, by relying on totems. The latter really helped and Stepan was tempted to start a new cycle of improvements, but now to develop these totems to a new level of system skill. The only thing that stopped him was the camouflage, which was perfect now, and the work with new elements would start to undermine it, especially if it was done immediately and without preliminary calculations.

Camrad_RIP 13.07.24 в 08:49

He had learned his new knowledge in the clearing, laying on the ground warmed by the spirits and falling into a trance. Much of it he'd used in one way or another over the weeks, on one side or the other. Different tasks, different goals, different skills, but it was enough to let the System fill in the blanks and increase Stepan's magical erudition some more and some more. As in the last time, the main synergy came from the connection with totem shamanism, because the totem in its essence is often associated with the territory and therefore the newest knowledge is close to it. However, other directions were also not left out, including the techniques of remote influences, which unexpectedly revealed a new side. The ability to pull a part of the power over a piece of land and space to the place where the thread of control over the spirit, could be an extremely pleasant addition to the already familiar methods of supporting the retinue at a distance.

Camrad_RIP 13.07.24 в 08:40

Countering curses and their imposition with emphasis on the territory, spell tricks with the same support or against it, methods to confuse traces, minds, consciousness, and perception, creating enchanted forests or other "labyrinths" in which it is possible to lose attackers or simply enemies. Using the support in the form of territory for powerful calls of the proper type, hiding these calls or in general any interaction with spirits in order to maximize the sudden impact or other impact. Accelerating gaining power over the territory by infusing reserve, reagents, one's own life, or whatever. Especially memorable was not even a ritual, but a whole methodology of how to quickly gain power over a castle, palace, or large mansion, if you sleep with its female owner (or the owner's wife), using specific tantric practices.

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 06:45

Healing yourself or someone else while they are within the power of territorial control, imposing mass blessings and mass curses. Methods of powerful calls, especially with the use of a full-fledged magical source, when you call at once a swarm of all sorts of crap binding them together with a common will, and the rollback from the load dumped on the subordinate territory. This often results in the fact that the earth literally drinks dry, killing plants, expelling or also killing animals and insects, mutilating or destabilizing sources, but you can for some time call as if you have, figuratively speaking, infinite ammunition.

Camrad_RIP 13.07.24 в 08:41

There were many such tricks, many new recipes for summoning, and even some interesting charmers, though not the kind Stepan would have summoned. He wouldn't have summoned them, but it was possible to evaluate the approach and look for someone similar, with a different role and specialization. For example, a funny spirit and a description of the necessary ritual that allowed a vampire or a vampiress drunk with his or someone else's blood, to immerse him or her in forced sleep in a special grave where the power over the earth was extremely high, and then to start fixing the victim's brains ignoring the defense of consciousness and the natural resistance of the inanimate essence tied to blood magic. Yes, you can't bend a strong bloodsucker like that, and yes, you have to catch the victim first, - although there were ways to do it all without being noticed by the not quite-alive recipient, - yes, it's still a bit hard, but it's a fact! And no, Stepan didn't want to get a pale and gothic beauty of a couple of centuries of age and with hands covered in blood up to the top of her head, thank you, because it was somehow dangerous to get involved in gothic.

Camrad_RIP 13.07.24 в 08:43

But it is a great idea for a ritual trap against the undead or even a specific exorcism, just change the mediator, remove the charmer, and call an aspectnik of the same light or life with purity, supplement it with an anchor, not on blood, but based on a curse and the remains of one of the drunken victims and it's done! If not kill the bloodsucker, then at least localize and weaken it before the battle, which is a lot, especially if it is an old and experienced creature. Yes, a mighty ancient or experienced supreme will not make such a mistake, he will clean up all traces of his meal, making the body of the drunk a useless piece of meat, and most likely not leaving the body in a visible place at all. And so, yes, even the higher ones, from the younger ones, could be picked off by such tactics, especially if they don't know about such tactics or have never encountered them.

Camrad_RIP 13.07.24 в 08:45

"Call me Stepan van Helsing." The young man said a little pompously into the darkness of the night, but immediately thought back and corrected his hasty phrase. "No, it's better not to call. Don't call at all. Not at all. I don't want to get hooked on hunting deadly filth."

Camrad_RIP 11.07.24 в 06:47